Kate on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Madrid Spain

Thursday, January 28, 2016

The Cold Here Goes Straight to Your Bones 11/23/2015

Dear Family and Friends,

Here in Spain its colder than Utah, because here, there is something called "dry cold". Everyone tells Hermana Graff and me that we don't understand how dangerous the cold is here. (Most here have never seen snow. Oh wait, some have, I think it was 2002 the last time a few flakes fell). Anyways, our investigator and members are constantly telling us we don't understand the cold in Spain. Because here, "you don't feel the cold outside on your skin---- it goes straight to your bones". I don't really understand what that means? But when talking about the cold here, you don't argue. So I just nod.

So---I need to be careful because the cold is going to my bones.

Our investigators are doing great. Hermana Graff and I are so blessed with many people to teach. We are constantly sprinting, and when I say sprinting, I mean----Hermana Graff gets shin splints like everyday, because we are always running between lessons.

Leonard is one of our investigators who is 45, and loves doing cartwheels.Yeah, it's weird. I haven't told you much about him, but he is amazing. It's so fun to teach him because he loves learning and he is so prepared. He is the one who is working on smoking, and he is doing really great and hasn't smoked in a week.

Isabel is also a little girl we teach, her mom's a member. She is so cute and fun to teach and is so excited to be baptized. The other time we taught her she offered to teach us Spanish class, because she said we talk funny...

Also the member Mike that told me I was fat, we are teaching his twin brother. They are soooo funny together. They always make me laugh. They found me on Facebook and told me here in Spain I must be stressed a lot because I don't look the same here----aka, I never do my hair. They are very honest people, but they are a ton of fun.

Yesterday we set up our Christmas trees. We have two. One is on the floor with little lights, and the other's on our table. They are both little trees and super cute because they are mini. We just found them in the piso and got really excited and couldn't wait to put them up. So maybe that's not a we, maybe it was just me, putting up our baby Christmas trees.

Although, I love Christmas, my all time favorite holiday is coming up----Thanksgiving!!!! It's kind of a shame because it's just an American holiday, but it's okay, we are going to teach our recent convert how to have a Thanksgiving.

I love Thanksgiving. I love it. I love it. I love it.

So make sure you all eat a lot----doubt any of you will eat as much as I do every day, but try to eat as much as you can. And also give thanks.

"My point is to urge you to find ways to recognize and remember God’s kindness. It will build your testimonies. You may not keep a journal. You may not share whatever record you keep with those you love and serve. But you and they will be blessed as you remember what the Lord has done. You remember that song we sometimes sing: “Count your many blessings; name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.”

I love this talk. It's one of my all time favorites. Because I know God is pouring down blessings everyday to everyone of his children, and all we need to do is look up and notice it. The key to being happy is realizing you have reasons to be happy.